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Photos: Published by Haaretz
Palestinians walk on a damaged street as they leave Jenin during an Israeli raid, in the West Bank, on January 22, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta. Published by Haaretz

An Israeli soldier supervises the transfer of Palestinian men arrested during a military raid on Jenin, near the Muqeibila crossing on the border with the West Bank, on January 22, 2025. Credit: AFP/GIL COHEN-MAGEN
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A Palestinian man was killed near the Jenin refugee camp after gunfire caused his car to crash. Passengers blamed an IDF sniper. He was reportedly among 10 killed on the first day of the IDF operation. The next day, the army allegedly blocked hospital entrances and told patients to leave

by Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Jan 23, 2025 1:18 am IST

Ahmed Nimr al-Shayeb, 43, was killed near the Jenin refugee camp after hearing gunfire, which caused him to accelerate his car and drive into a post. Passengers who were with him said that an army sniper had shot at them. According to Palestinians, he was one of 10 people killed on the first day of an IDF operation in the city. On the second day, the army blocked entrances to hospitals, and according to residents, patients were asked to move out.

An IDF sharpshooter fired at a man driving in his car with his family and friends in the al-Hadef neighborhood, west of the Jenin refugee camp. The shooting caused the man to drive off the road and he was killed, passengers in his car told Haaretz.

In footage shooting his last journey, Ahmed Nimr al-Shayeb, 43, from the town of Burqin, west of Jenin, is seen accelerating his car after gunshots are heard, then crashing into a post on the side of the road. Passengers who were with him say the man had collected his kid from kindergarten and was taking other residents of Burqin back to their town, since they had been stuck in Jenin after IDF forces invaded the city.

Ahmed was just one of ten Palestinians who were killed on Tuesday in an IDF operation in Jenin, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the West Bank. A further 40 people were wounded. On the second day of the operation, further forces entered the city, accompanied by heavy equipment. Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate their homes given the continued raids.

The focus of the second day was the city's hospitals – the government hospital and the al-Razi hospital – where the army had blocked any entrance by constructing earth berms, which were later removed.

Residents reported that soldiers had asked patients to leave these hospitals, and that they were forced to leave on foot, since the army had caused great destruction in the area and had blocked access to vehicles.

Residents said that they saw soldiers inside the al-Razi hospital. In some locations, detainees were seen getting into military vehicles, wearing white overalls the soldiers had put on them.

In Jenin, a commercial hub, there are no reports of food shortages for now, or of lack of water and basic products. But people are concerned about what lies ahead.

"We heard threats of turning Jenin into Jabalya, and that is apparently what the government of Israel wants in order to placate Smotrich and Ben-Gvir," a Fatah activist who lives in the Jenin refugee camp told Haaretz.

He said that the Palestinian Authority – whose security forces retreated on Tuesday after a big campaign they were involved in, following the entry of IDF forces – is perceived by the populace as a body incapable of contending with armed militants on its own, or as a collaborator with Israel.

Armed men in Jenin and their supporters blame the Authority for the death of Palestinians in the city, a result of its cooperation with Israel.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad urged the Palestinian public to mobilize against Israel's military action and to support "Palestinian fighters in their struggle against Israeli oppression."

The Jenin battalion, most of whose fighters belong to Islamic Jihad, a few others belonging to Hamas, said that its men were operating against IDF forces on many fronts throughout the city. They said that they were fighting military forces and vehicles using direct fire and explosive devices.

The IDF embarked on this operation using many forces, including special ops units, Border Police and Shin Bet units. The operation, labeled "Iron Walls," began with airstrikes by drones against weapons stockpiles, with numerous forces then entering the northern West Bank city.

The IDF said that the operation's objectives are to maintain freedom of action across the West Bank, as well as to hit terror infrastructure and "ticking bombs." According to the army, the operation will continue in the next few days, "for as long as necessary," and is expected to focus on the refugee camp.

Last month, the Palestinian Authority's security services began to arrest armed men in the camp, in an attempt to restore the Authority's control of the area. One aim of the campaign was to arrest armed men, most of whom are also wanted by Israel.

The IDF has not yet responded to this story.

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